This Application is related to U.S. Application No. TBD, entitled, Telecommunications Device Ring Tone Apparatuses, Systems and Methods, and U.S. Application No. TBD, entitled, Systems and Methods for Wireline Ring Tone Service, filed concurrently herewith.
The invention is directed generally to systems and methods for providing wireline messages to terminating stations, such as telephones, and more particularly, to systems and methods for providing wireline messages, such as text messages, ring tones and the like, to slightly modified conventional telephones using conventional telecommunications infrastructure.
The public switched telephone network (PSTN) has been in existence for many years and has been the primary network supporting the conventional telephone system. Until recently, the PSTN has been used exclusively for transmitting verbal communications between users at two or more terminating stations, such as telephones, positioned in different geographic locations. While the PSTN continues to be used for transmitting verbal communications, use of the PSTN has expanded greatly within the past twenty years to include data transmission between computers, internet support, and other such applications.
During evolution of the PSTN, the mobile communications network simultaneously evolved to support primarily mobile telephones and other verbal communication devices. The mobile communications network evolved very similarly to the PSTN, except that the mobile communications network experienced change at a much faster pace than the PSTN. For instance, the mobile communications network was first developed as a collection of towers covering individual geographic areas, referred to as cells, for transmitting verbal communications electronically between two mobile telephones or between a mobile telephone and a wireline telephone. Mobile communication devices were quickly reconfigured to enable users to send and transmit data across the mobile communications network using modems and other such devices. Shortly thereafter, text messaging, referred to as short message service (SMS), was developed for sending short text messages to mobile communication devices. These short messages were designed as a reliable way for sending short messages or reminders to colleagues, friends and others. At the time, SMS was limited to messages consisting only of alpha-numeric characters.
Recently, SMS evolved into a system, commonly referred to as enhanced messaging service (EMS), that is capable of sending ring tones, operator logos, and other simple visual messages to EMS compliant mobile devices. EMS compliant mobile telephones also have the ability to send and receive a combination of simple media items, such as melodies, pictures, sounds, animations, modified text and standard text as an integrated message for viewing on display screens. Both SMS and EMS allow users to receive and view messages on a mobile device in many geographic locations. However, SMS and EMS are effective methods of communication only if the intended recipient is using the mobile device. If the intended recipient is not using the mobile device, then the intended recipient does not receive the message. In addition, an intended recipient cannot receive a communication if the recipient is in an area that does not support mobile communications, such as a rural area without mobile communication towers.
Although mobile telephones are used regularly by a portion of society, usage of mobile telephones vary from person to person based on a variety of factors. For instance, some individuals use mobile telephones as their primary means of communication, while others use mobile telephones sporadically or not at all. As a result, the likelihood of contacting someone through a mobile telephone varies as well. Thus, using SMS and EMS on mobile telephones is not always a reliable method of communicating with someone. In addition, even frequent users of mobile telephones often have portions of a typical day in which they are not in contact with their mobile telephones, such as when they are at work or at home after work, on a weekend or on a holiday. Thus, senders often cannot be sure that the intended recipient will see a message promptly.
In many instances, a wireline telephone is available to the intended recipient when a mobile telephone is unavailable. Thus, a need exists for a system and method for sending messages, composed of text, audio messages and the like, to wireline devices that are capable of receiving these messages.
Set forth below is a brief summary of systems and methods according to the invention that address the foregoing problems and provide benefits and advantages in accordance with the purposes of the present invention as embodied and broadly described herein. According to one aspect, this invention is directed to a system for providing wireline messages to a terminating station, such as a telephone, across a conventional public switched telecommunications network (PSTN). The wireline messages may include text messages, ring tones and other items and may be created through a variety of sources, such as personal computers, mobile telephones, wireline telephones, modems, and other such devices. Wireline messages are stored within a wireline messages database associated with a service control point (SCP) of a conventional Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN). The wireline message database stores wireline messages and associates each message with either a called directory number or a calling directory number.
In one embodiment, wireline messages composed of text messages are delivered to a terminating station using the conventional PSTN. The process of sending a wireline message to a directory number includes sending the wireline message to a service switching point (SSP) if the wireline message is created using an originating station coupled to the SSP, such as a telephone, or sending the wireline message through another system, such as a mobile network, if the wireline message is created using a wireless telephone or the like. Regardless of the path through which the wireline message is initially routed, the wireline message is sent to a message server as an email message or a SMS using a unique address. The message server sends the wireline message to a service node that is configured as an Internet Gateway with both signaling and voice path interfaces.
The service node receives the wireline message and determines whether the terminating directory number associated with the wireline message is a subscriber of the wireline text service. In one embodiment, this is accomplished by the service node sending a query to the SCP to access a directory within the wireline message database containing a list of directory numbers subscribing to the wireline text service. If the wireline message database contains the directory number, then the SCP sends a response to the service node instructing the service node to send the wireline message to the wireline message database. Otherwise, the SCP sends a response to the service node instructing the service node to delete the message and send a message to the calling party indicating that the wireline message is undeliverable because the directory number is not associated with a subscriber of the wireline text system.
After a wireline message has been created and sent to a directory number associated with a subscriber of the wireline message system, the wireline message is stored within the wireline message database for a very brief period of time until a trigger, such as a conventional terminating attempt trigger (TAT), is actuated. After the wireline message is stored within the wireline message database, the service node initiates a telephone call to the wireline message terminating directory number. The TAT is actuated upon a service switching point receiving the telephone call from the service node. Actuating the trigger causes the wireline message stored in the wireline database associated with the SCP to be sent to a terminating station in the following manner.
When a call is placed to a directory number from the service node, the call is first received by a SSP. The call is held at the SSP, and a digital data message is created and sent to the SCP through a STP. The SCP searches the wireline message database for wireline messages associated with the called directory number. If the SCP locates a wireline message associated with the called directory number, the SCP retrieves the wireline message from the wireline message database and creates a digital data message including the wireline message. Otherwise, if no wireline message associated with the called directory number is located, the SCP creates and sends a digital data message to the SSP instructing the SSP to process the call in a conventional fashion. The size of the wireline messages sent by the SCP to the SSP cannot be larger than about 480 to 600 characters.
After the SCP generates a digital data message including a wireline message, the SCP sends this digital data message to the SSP. If the SSP determines that the terminating station is in an off-hook condition, the SSP sends the wireline message to a terminating station using conventional call waiting techniques using in band signaling to send the text message to the terminating directory number. Otherwise, the SSP sends the wireline message to a terminating station between conventional first and second ring tones using FSK signals. The terminating station determines the contents of the wireline message and displays the message on a display device, such as a conventional liquid crystal display (LCD) screen. The terminating station may include a light emitting device (LED) or other visual indicator for alerting a subscriber to the fact that a wireline message has been sent to the subscriber.
In another embodiment, a wireline message may be composed of a ring tone that is used to identify the directory number from which an incoming call was placed. For instance, a subscriber can customize the ring tone corresponding to their associated directory number for the purpose of allowing another subscriber to identify the directory number from which the incoming call was placed. The ring tone can be composed of various tones, melodies and other sounds. This service allows the called subscriber to infer who placed the call.
Upon subscribing to the service, a directory number associated with the subscriber is stored within a first field in a wireline database that contains a list of directory numbers subscribing to the service. A subscriber may select a ring tone to associate with a directory number using the Internet to access web pages which offer many different ring tones and allow a subscriber to chose a ring tone. While reviewing a web page, the subscriber may select a ring tone and pay a fee for the ring tone. After completing the transaction, the ring tone is stored in the wireline message database associated with the SCP.
The wireline ring tone service operates by a call first being placed from an originating station to a directory number associated with a subscriber having compatible equipment. The call is routed through a local exchange network to the terminating SSP where a trigger is actuated. The call is held at the SSP, and a digital data message is created and sent to a SCP. Then the SCP searches the wireline message database for a wireline message composed of a ring tone that is associated with the calling directory number. If the SCP locates a wireline message associated with the calling directory number, the SCP retrieves the wireline message from the wireline message database and creates a digital data message including the wireline message. Otherwise, if no wireline message associated with the calling directory number is located in the wireline message database, the SCP instructs the SSP to process the call in a conventional fashion. The size of the wireline messages sent by the SCP to the SSP in a single transmission cannot be larger than the equivalent of about 480 to 600 characters.
After the SCP generates a digital data message including a wireline message, the SCP sends this digital data message to the terminating SSP. Once the SSP receives the digital data message containing the wireline message, the SSP sends the wireline message to the terminating station between the first and second ring tones using FSK signals. If the SSP determines that the terminating station is in an off-hook condition, the SSP does not send the wireline message to the terminating station.
The terminating station receives the FSK modulated signal and processes the signal. If the transmitted FSK signal includes a flag indicating that it is a ring tone, the terminating station processes the wireline message as a ring tone and plays the ring tone so that the ring tone can alert a subscriber that a call has been made from a particular directory number. The terminating station can be adapted to play the ring tone for various intervals and patterns.
An advantage of this invention is that text messages and graphics can be sent to people while they are in locations, such as their home or office, where people typically do not operate mobile devices having text messaging. Thus, this invention allows text messages to be sent to terminating stations where intended recipients are more likely to receive and respond to messages at certain times of the day or days of the week, such as on weekends, than through other devices.
Another advantage of this invention is that it allows a subscriber to customize the ring tone associated with the subscriber""s assigned directory number so that called parties can identify the directory number from which the call was placed. Thus, a party that receives a call from a directory number having a custom ring tone can infer who placed the call based on the ring tone of the incoming call.
Yet another advantage of this invention is that it allows users to send and receive text messages from locations that do not have mobile service, or from locations where particular cellular providers do not have coverage.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after review of the following drawings and detailed description of the disclosed embodiments.